The best of the 2017 Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards

If you were wondering why animals look so serious all the time in documentaries and on safari, we have good news for you. The Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards has spent the last three years sneaking photos of our furry, feathered and finned friends having a whale of a time. It’s all for a good cause, too—the awards aim to raise awareness about wildlife conservation. Scroll down for the winning image of three owls on a limb, shot by Tibor Kercz, and a peek at the finalists. There are monkeys on motorbikes, penguins suited up for church, owls having a hoot, the most cheeky little dormouse and a fox that really has the last laugh at a golf course.1. A burrowing owl looks exhausted as four of her owlets squawk for her attention in Florida. Who can relate?

Photo: Barb D’Arpino / CWPA / Barcroft Images |

2. Are we there yet? Baby polar bear hitches a ride on mama bear’s bum in Wapusk National Park in Manitoba, Canada.

Photo: Daisy Gilardini / CWPA / Barcroft Images

3. “Mom, do we always have to be the first ones at church?” Three king penguins approach the only church on South Georgia Island, appearing to be headed for services.

Photo: Carl Henry / CWPA / Barcroft Images |

4. A red fox is right at home on a golf course in San Jose, California.

Photo: Douglas Croft / CWPA / Barcroft Images |

5. Coming soon in a summer blockbuster: our friend, a calumma nasutum or nose-horned chameleon, dancing on a limb in Andasibe, Madagascar.

Photo: Jasmine Vink / CWPA / Barcroft Images |

6. Baby, let’s drive: Monkeying around on a motorbike parked near the entrance to the Tangkoko Batuangus Nature Reserve, Indonesia.

Photo: Miguel Illana / CWPA / Barcroft Images |

7.The Sergeant’s always right: King penguins know just how to fall in line.

Photo: Miguel Illana / CWPA / Barcroft Images |

8.You had to be there: African wild dogs crack up after a hard day’s work in Tembe Elephant Park, South Africa.